A New Bishop in Town

Two weeks ago we received an email early on Sunday morning saying the Stake President wanted to meet with us as a couple later that afternoon. When we showed up for the meeting, we were greeted by the entire Stake Presidency. And they asked Sam to serve as Bishop.

Bob Wyatt--1st Counselor, Bishop Sam Sponseller, Laird Jenkins, 2nd Counselor

Sam was ordained and set apart on Sunday, May 13th--yes, it was Mother's Day.

David and I were quickly inducted into the life of being the Bishop's family.

Sam stayed at church, as would be expected, after the rest of the meetings were over. David and I caught a ride home from a very kind neighbor. When we got home, I realized that I didn't have my house key--it was in the pocket of my coat hanging inside the house. So we went to the back yard, waiting for Daddy to come home. "It's Mother's Day, and they never have meetings on Mother's Day," I thought. "Sam will be home as soon as he finishes counting the tithing." I had a phone--I could have called someone--but I really didn't see the purpose, because I thought Sam would be home quicker than anyone else could help us out. Any other week of the year, would have been unpredictable--but I really thought that I could expect my husband to come home promptly after church on Mother's Day. So we waited while the wind blew. And we waited while it rained. And we waited all cuddled up to keep each other warm. We found the sunny spots of the yard in the few moments the sun peeked out to warm us up--it was such a blessing to warm up for 5 minutes here and there! For a while, I sent David to the gate each time we heard a car drive by to see if it was our Daddy. That was just a disappointing game. Finally, Sam pulled up. It was 5 pm and 2 1/2 hours after David and I arrived home from church.

This wasn't exactly how I thought I would spend the afternoon of Mother's Day--and yes, I learned my lesson about triple checking for my key before I catch a ride home from church. I also saw how patient David was. He was cold. He was tired. He was hungry--It was 5 pm before we got inside, and neither of us had eaten lunch. But David was cheerful. He didn't cry or whine or complain. It was the best Mother's Day gift he could have given me!